To help make train services on the new East West Rail route between Oxford and Milton Keynes as reliable as possible, signalling on the line will be controlled using some of the latest technology.

The signalling technology used on the new railway line is the first of its kind in Britain, and provides improved reliability over conventional signalling systems for passenger and freight services.

Trains will be controlled from a new workstation created at Network Rail’s rail operating centre at Rugby, which also controls the West Coast Main Line and is the busiest mixed-use railway in Europe.

The new workstation, named the ‘Claydon workstation’ after a station on the line, uses Modular Control System Infinity (MCS-I) technology supplied by Alstom UK that supports the AtkinsRéalis’ Advanced Signalling Method (ASM), which uses high-capacity fibre connectivity to ensure trains run safely and reliably.

Six jobs for newly qualified signallers have been created in the Rugby operating centre to control trains on the new line, and there will be a need to employ more signallers when future phases of East West Rail are built.

The project’s ‘Connection Stage One’ (CS1) was completed in October 2024 and undertaken by Network Rail with its East West Rail Alliance Partners: AtkinsRéalis, Laing O’Rourke and VolkerRail. The new signalling infrastructure includes:

• 59 new signals.
• 154,490 metres of signalling cable.
• 41 miles of track.
• 18 points.
• 71 axle counter sections using 96 axle counter heads.
• 54 signalling location cases.

Before the line opens for regular traffic, a number of test trains will run between Milton Keynes and Oxford, and will continue over the coming months.

Although the line is not yet used by freight traffic, freight operators can now use the line when needed. The Department for Transport is now following the usual procedures and working with partners and train operators to ensure passenger services start as soon as possible.

“We are extremely proud to have been a part of returning this railway line from Bicester to Bletchley back to the mainline passenger network for the first time in 50 years. We look forward to seeing passengers using the new infrastructure, connecting the communities along the route and facilitating east west rail journeys.”

Mark James, Alliance director for East West Rail Alliance